The kiddo’s first, official day of school is today. They were both so excited! We’re really looking forward to meeting them at the bus stop to hear about their day.
On Wednesday, our entire family went to the school. There was a new family orientation that was very helpful. All of the incoming Kindergarten families were there, as well as us newbie’s.
Our children’s school is an American school, but it has an international population. 30 percent of the students are American, 30 percent are Italian and the balance, are from all over the globe. As this is an American school, all of the classes are in English, except the foreign language classes.
We checked-in, and immediately, the staff knew who we were. Our children were given unique names and the staff couldn’t wait to see the freaks who named their children accordingly. We put on our nametags, signed up for volunteer duties(!), checked to make sure all of our contact information was correct and received an introduction by our head of school. We were introduced to the principals, athletics coordinator, nurse (swine flu update received) and PTO (PTA) chair. We also were informed, students and parents together, of the dress code – no underwear or mid-drifts to be showing. Check!
The first task was to break out the students by grade level. There were experienced kids and teachers on hand to lead tours of the school. The Kindergarten children (so cute and tiny!) and families went with the teachers to the classrooms. The parents of the elementary school children met with the elementary school principal and us middle/high school parents met with the secondary school principal.
We went over the school handbook, talked about discipline (rarely needed, so we were told), met the counselor who handles emotional and educational issues (helps with the college application process – huge! –and- is expected to balance my daughters latest teenage drama? – I hope this woman is highly compensated!), went over the lunch/bar payment process (two pastas, pizza, salad bar with fresh fruit, veggies and yogurt, meat dishes, breads, desserts – no soda thankfully! They have an espresso bar with juices as well… I hope my kids don’t become caffeine addicts!), EdLine - the online system to view assignments, and the bus system.
Non-English speaking students were assessed for their English skills, and there were math and foreign language assessments as well. The 11th and 12th graders needed to identify if they planned to join the Advanced Placement classes or the International Baccalaureate program.
Our kids schedule was easy – Science, Math, Social Studies, Language Arts, PE, Beginning Italian, and a Study Block. The gymnasium received a new floor over the summer, so we’ll buy shoes, specifically for PE.
The bus system is very complicated! There is a man whose entire job is to coordinate the buses – all 29 of them. The school operates a private bus service, which was a pro when choosing a school, as not all private schools offer this amenity. As there are students all over Rome who attend this school, these buses go all over the place –and- the teachers ride them too!
When we sat down with the bus coordinator, again, he knew us right away as the freak parents who gave their children such interesting names. We hoped a bus would come into the historic center of Rome to pick up our kids. How naive were we? Very. Because the center is so difficult to drive in and busy at all hours, there’s no way a bus will come into the center. So we will walk them to a stop along the Tiber River for morning pick-up, then across one of the bridges for afternoon drop off.
We . Are . In . Rome . Italy. There are bus strikes, and other transportation strikes, all of the time. And there is rarely any notice of these strikes. As our buses are private, our children will be transported, however, when there is a transportation strike of any kind (train, taxi, subway) in Rome, all routes will be adversely affected. Each bus driver has our home and cell numbers, for this reason. Our bus coordinator is Irish – a most perfect nationality for the job! Ai yi yi – I hope he is highly compensated as well!
The kids had their student ID photos taken, which will have their lunch numbers on them. They received their lockers and combinations. They were both relieved to have top lockers. My son said it took him 20 minutes to learn how to open his locker, which will surprise no one. They allotted 30 minutes, which they used, so he wasn’t the last. They both met kids their own ages, so we’ll see if they hang out with them today.
Thursday, there was a 6th grade orientation. Only the 6th graders went to school – new and returning. As it’s their first year in middle school, many of the students had never changed classes before and the returning students hadn’t received a locker. Thankfully, our son had exposure in elementary school to changing classes, so the process didn’t overwhelm him. They received their schedules, went to each class for a half hour, met the teachers and ended the day with a pizza lunch. He met a few more kids and seemed upbeat about his day.
Now, it feels real!
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